CPD: Cops on bike patrol foil Loop robbery

Staff report

Police officers on bicycles chased down and arrested a 23-year-old man after he swiped a woman's cell phone in the Loop on Tuesday evening, police said.

About 5 p.m., a 39-year-old woman on crutches was looking at the screen of her phone as she waited for a taxi in the 100 block of North State Street, the Chicago Police Department said in a news release early this morning.

A 23-year-old man approached the woman and grabbed the phone from her hand, according to police. The woman lost her balance and fell to the ground as the man fled.

A witness flagged down a bicycle patrol unit in the area shortly after, and the officers found the suspect nearby. Clayton Jones, of the 7200 block of South Luella Avenue, had the woman's phone with him and was positively identified by the woman, police said.

Jones was charged with one count of felony robbery and is expected to appear in bond court today.